As residents begin returning to their flood-damaged homes and water levels continue to recede across the province, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard announced Monday that new rules governing compensation for flood victims could come by the end of the week.

The premier told reporters Monday that though the current financial aid program isn’t inadequate, he does believe it could be improved.

“We’re trying to make it as broad as we can, that’s the reason why we’re working on improving the program,” Couillard said. “Probably broadening criteria for inclusion in the program and also looking at the financial thresholds for compensation.”

Couillard said about $2 million has been doled out to help cover living expenses and advances for repair work.

In many flood-stricken areas across the province, there has been a slow but steady shift toward cleaning up as water levels recede. In other areas, water levels remain high but are expected to drop in the coming days.

The water has receded quite a bit but there are some places where the water is still above normal levels like at 43rd Avenue and Riviera St. in Laval, on Monday, May 15, 2017.Dave Sidaway /
Montreal Gazette

In Laval Ouest on Monday, residents continued the arduous task of cleaning out their flooded homes and planning for the future.

“I am not going anywhere, I am going to stay here and fight Mother Nature,” said Mario Théoret, who was cleaning out his flooded basement on Riviera St., on the banks of the Rivière des Mille Îles.

Théoret and two of his friends will spend the week pumping water from his basement, removing wood and tossing out beds, furniture and electronics that were damaged when floodwaters began seeping into his basement.

“Everything in the basement has to be scrapped,” he said. “Before the flood, we had a living room, a bedroom and a bar down here.”

Théoret said he plans to apply for financial compensation to help rebuild his basement because he doesn’t want to move despite his ordeal. “No one will want to buy a home that flooded,” he said.

A few houses away, Claude Robert was removing sandbags from the front on his house on Riviera St. and counting his blessings. Robert knows he is one of the lucky ones.

His house escaped the floods because it is across the street from the river and built on a slope.

“I bought the house last year and I knew the water came up to the street but didn’t think it would be this close,” he said. “We were kayaking on the street last week and one of the neighbours caught a fish standing on the street.”

Jean-François Clermont and his cleanup crew were picking up debris that residents of Bourgeois St. in Ste-Dorothée had dumped on the street.

“Most of the stuff is from the basement, like Gyproc, walls and even a dryer,” Clermont said.

He said flood victims know they have a lot of work ahead of them but they are happy that the rivers are finally receding.

On the city’s website, civil security officials said water and flow levels on Rivière des Mille Îles and Rivière des Prairies will continue to drop this week.

The water has receded quite a bit but there are some places where the water is still above normal levels like at 43rd Ave. and Riviera St. in Laval, on Monday, May 15, 2017.Dave Sidaway /
Montreal Gazette

In Rigaud, one of the hardest-hit areas, most people were allowed to return to their homes on Monday afternoon. Residents living directly beside the Ottawa River will have to wait a little longer, town officials said. Others were told they could return to their houses but were advised not to sleep there for the next couple of days.

In Montreal, most of Pierrefonds Blvd. reopened on Monday, but the city warned there were some lane closures still in effect. Parts of the thoroughfare were first closed on May 3 due to the flooding.

The borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro said it will be adding eight more members to its inspection team for the next two weeks to better help residents figure out what needs to be done with their properties after the flood. The borough said the inspectors will be visiting each house in the flooded areas, so residents don’t need to apply for the service.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board announced that Friday’s pedagogical day has been cancelled — meaning it will be a regular school day — due to the school closures caused by the floods. The board said regular transportation, cafeteria and daycare services will be open.

Several public consultation meetings about provincial financial assistance are scheduled for this week, including Wednesday night in Deux-Montagnes, Thursday night in Oka, and Saturday morning in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. More information about the meetings can be found on the website for Quebec’s public security ministry, www.securitepublique.gouv.qc.ca.

Flood victims seeking information on assistance programs can call 418-643-AIDE, in the Quebec City region, or 1-888-643-AIDE elsewhere in the province.

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